


A Prank for a Heart

by whatsanapocalae



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Anxiety, Body Horror, Body Worship, Bullying, First Dates, First Kiss, Hurt/Comfort, Ken Doll Android Anatomy | Androids Have No Genitalia (Detroit: Become Human), M/M, Nightmares, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Scars, Self-Esteem Issues, Shopping, Soft Gavin Reed, Soft Upgraded Connor | RK900, Teeth, Trans Male Character, Upgraded Connor | RK900 Has Sharp Teeth, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-15
Updated: 2020-03-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:47:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22732798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whatsanapocalae/pseuds/whatsanapocalae
Summary: No matter where you work, no matter how old you are, some people still act like it's high school. When Nines gets asked out as a joke, he's too excited to have someone interested to be dissuaded and Gavin needs to come up with a master plan.okay this rambled a lot and it just kind of became a mess but that's what happens when you're running on 2 hours of sleep and write 3,000 more words than intended. I did literally post it at exactly midnight of Valentine's day so hurray me
Relationships: Upgraded Connor | RK900/Gavin Reed
Comments: 34
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

Officer Mindy Rivierra had a ritual and this year was no different. She came in, dressed for work but her face done up for after, and went straight to her target. Every Valentine’s Day she would go to one of the newest in their ranks and invite them out to dinner, somewhere nice but not too nice, with reservations. No one ever warned whichever poor sod she asked out because, at this point, it was practically a hazing ritual.

So it wasn’t a surprise. So no one warned him. So Nines had agreed to the date.

Gavin had gone on a date with Mindy, back when he was still a soft little rookie with a dumb ponytail and a blotchy beard. He remembered how excited he was when the prettiest girl on the force invited him out. He remembered how much it hurt when she didn’t show.

It was a joke, a prank, and it hurt like a bitch. And it was going to happen to Nines.

Gavin sat across from him, trying to do his work, trying to ignore the red flags. Nines was, as far as he was aware, completely new to all this. He’d never gone to high school and been asked out as a joke before, he’d never had a prank played on him, he’d never been hurt in the way that Mindy was going to hurt him. It was only one of the few things that Gavin knew about his partner, aside from the fact that he didn’t like to smile, that he was shy and reserved, that he’d deviated faster than any android on record, and that he was only two months old. That and that Gavin liked him a whole lot more than he ever wanted to admit.

But right now, Nines as smiling, that small tight lipped smile. Every once in a while he’d glance over and, if he saw Mindy, the smile would break into something bigger, hidden behind his hand. It twisted something in Gavin’s gut, made him feel like shit for not saying something, but at the same time, he’d never seen Nines smile so much before. He didn’t want to make him stop.

“Mindy’s a joke, you know that?” he said at some point, when they were driving back from a case, the only case they’d gotten an opportunity to leave the station for that day. “You could do better.”

“I could,” Nines said, keeping his eyes on his hands, where he dug some soil, dyed blue, out from under his fingernail. Gavin didn’t know if it was part of Nines’ shyness or not, but he never made eye contact. “She is, however, the only one who’s shown interest. So while I may be able to do better I doubt anyone would want me in response. My social programming isn’t strong either and a date would be a good way to learn how to improve.”

“But Mindy though?” Gavin pressed. He wanted to say but he didn’t and Nines was right. He could be a scary bastard, even with the way he kept his eyes on the floor like he was subservient and the way that he held himself like he was smaller and less of a threat than those around him. Only on a case did he straighten up, fold his hands behind his back, and exude intimidation. Some of the officers still didn’t talk to him though, intimidated by his very being.

“Is there something about this that concerns you?” he asked, opening the window and flicking the grit out.

Gavin bit his lip. Yes. Yes, something concerned him greatly. Nines was getting his hopes up and was going to get his heart broken, all in one day. Knowing how new Nines was to emotions, he didn’t know how messy that would be.

“You ever been on a date before, Terminator?”

Nines cocked his head. “No. I was hoping that I may ask you for assistance, if that were possible. I believe you have had a much more diverse dating life than I could hope to gain and I desire your advice.”

‘Diverse dating life’. That was a fancy way of saying slut if Gavin ever heard of one. He didn’t argue it though. He just pulled out his outdated Juul and took a puff. 25% nicotine compared to a cigarette but it was something and Nines didn’t argue with it. It was his attempt at quitting.

“What’s on your mind?”

Nines fiddled with the edges of his Cyberlife jacket. It was looking worn, all of what he wore was, the crisp lines starting to blur. “Would you help me find something to wear?”

\---

Gavin couldn’t believe he was doing this. He couldn’t believe he was letting Nines hurt himself like this. He hadn’t felt like he cared for someone this much in forever but, outside of Connor and Hank, Gavin realized that he was the closest thing to a friend that Nines had. That made his chest twist in ways that he usually tried to drown in alcohol and cigarettes but he was working to stop smoking, because he hated the look on Nines’ face when he did it, so that hurt in him just ground deeper and deeper. It was guilt. There was nothing else it could be.

Nines was smiling though, more than he ever did, and his LED was flashing blue. He covered his mouth when he went from rack to rack, pulling something out and showing it to Gavin for his approval. The date was set for Pastafazza, which was a nice Italian place but not super nice. Nines didn’t need a tie or anything, even though he looked at them with a certain curiosity and a gentle touch that made Gavin want to see him in one. Gavin helped him pick out a nice button up shirt in a deep blue, some new slacks, a belt, and black dress shoes. All that running around had worn a hole through Nines’ usual work shoes, not that he ever complained about it.

When he realized that Nines didn’t actually have any other clothes they spent another half hour there, just perusing. Nines kept that dopey close lipped smile on most of the time, looking away from Gavin whenever Gavin looked over at him, as if afraid to be caught.

And Gavin had an idea, seeing Nines there, like that. He was beautiful when he smiled. He seemed so human, trying on different clothes and talking as he did. He asked so many questions, what to talk about (what you’re like outside of work), what to do if you’re late (be late because you’re bringing a gift and an excuse), if he should bring a gift (only if he’s late), and all sorts of other things.

While Nines was trying things on, Gavin was forming a horrible, wonderful plan. He knew Mindy. He knew that she would be there, not at the date but in the restaurant since there was no point in pranking someone if you couldn’t see the fallout, and that Nines would be crushed. He picked up a deep burgundy shirt.

If Mindy wouldn’t be there. Someone would.

\---

The place was nice. It was way nicer than Gavin was used to. Still, he was dressed well and he had shaved and put on some concealer for where he’d cut himself and for his eye bags. He was also, as much as he hated to admit it, late. They’d spent too much time shopping and he’d spent too much time pacing and trying to decide if he could go through with this. He didn’t date, not really, and he really didn’t date androids. People at the station mostly thought that he and Nines got along because he had to play nice, not because he actually liked having Nines around. Nines reminded Gavin of a street cat, a lot, he could be violent and intimidating and could kill you without even trying but he also was afraid of kindness sometimes, didn’t expect anyone to see him as anything but the big scary android, and he was so goddamn soft if you earned his trust enough to see that side of him. Gavin didn’t know how he’d gotten so lucky. He decided it was because he was good with cats.

Nines looked… Gavin stood there, next to the host’s little podium, just staring for a moment. Nines was sitting there, looking at the menu, no silverware of glass of water in front of him, in the slack, shoes, belt, and shirt that they’d picked out together. The smile was gone from his lips but his expression hadn’t turned sour in the least. His LED was spinning, mostly blue but with a hint of yellow. Sure, his date was late but he hadn’t figured out yet that she wasn’t coming.

Nines looked stunning. Gavin had never seen him out of his Cyberlife uniform and now he never wanted to see him in it again. The shirt was undone, just a bit, and the collar purposefully popped, the navy of it drawing out the blue in his eyes. It really was a good choice. Under the shirt was a black turtleneck, rubbing almost as high as his stupid collar usually did. His hair didn’t need to be done but it was. And he was sitting in a position that was so much more human. His posture less perfect and more rolling, one arm outstretched across the shelf of plants that sat alongside the table.

The host was about to ask Gavin a question when he finally moved. Inhaling a long deep breath to settle his nerves. He was making a mistake. Nines wasn’t expecting him, didn’t want him there. He was there for Mindy. Sure, he was going to get all of his hopes dashed and he’d come in all pouty and broken up about it the next day, but still, he wasn’t there for Gavin. This was probably a big mistake.

“Sorry I’m late,” Gavin murmured as he slid into the seat across from Nines. He fished through his pocket, finding the little manila envelope he’d stashed there when he realized exactly how late he was going to be. “I got caught up in massacring my phcking face.”

Nines face didn’t exactly fall as it did harden, looking Gavin over. “What are you doing here?”

Gavin slid the envelope across the table towards him. “I didn’t have time to get you anything. This was all kind of last minute. So think of it as an IOU, okay?”

Nines picked up the little envelope, staring at it but not opening it. He was tight, doing that thing where he looked so small, even though he was over six feet tall. “I don’t understand.”

He had to come out with it. He knew he had to. He didn’t know why he had hoped that Nines would be excited to see him. He knew that he’d just be a disappointment. He always was. He wasn’t what anyone wanted.

“Look, Mindy does this bullshit to a lot of guys, and gals, and anyone else she can. It’s some kind of joke to her. I don’t get it but she did it to me and it hurt so goddamn bad. I just. I didn’t want you to be stood up, alright?”

Nines glanced over at him, eyeing his chin. “You are telling me that she never intended to go on a date with me, that her plan was to make a fool of me? Why did you not inform me of this before?”

Gavin ran a hand over his face. Yeah, he’d fucked up. He’d made a big mess of this. Now Nines was going to feel betrayed by two people. Great.

“You just. You were so excited. I’ve never seen you like that before, okay? And I’m a bastard. Everyone knows that.”

“You came out on a date with me, you ‘massacred your face’, in order to make up for what she was planning.”

Gavin all but slapped the table with how he removed his hand from his face. “Yeah.”

Nine’s forehead crinkled as he thought of it. “You wanted me to enjoy myself.”

“Yeah.”

“With you.”

Now it was Gavin who couldn’t make eye contact, staring at the table as he felt his face heat up and redden. Yeah, this was a mistake. He wasn’t this kind of person, he wasn’t nice, and he was phcking up being nice anyway. He wasn’t the right person. He wasn’t what Nines wanted and what was he doing here anyway? He felt something for Nines, sure, but it wasn’t like he liked him or anything. It was all just, weird stuff that he couldn’t explain.

Nines breathed out a long, shuddering breath. “Gavin...”

Gavin finally looked over. Nines had, perfectly and precisely, opened the manila envelope so that it wouldn’t tear and was holding Gavin’s stupid IOU. It was a little black cat keychain that had seven little holes in the chest and a button on the back, so it would meow when pressed. It was old though and worn and the colors were all faded, the blue from the collar almost gray. The tail was broken half off. It wasn’t much of anything, it was a literal piece of garbage and Gavin had given it to Nines. Failure upon failure.

Nines’ free hand was over his mouth as he looked it over, contemplative and his eyes giving off a look that Gavin couldn’t identify from what little he could see.  
“...I don’t have any keys.”

“What?”

Nines pressed the little button on the back and it gave off a strange warbled meow. “You gave me a keychain but I don’t have any keys. I have nothing to attach it too.”

“You don’t need to attach it to anything, dipshit,” Gavin grumbled. “It’s just a placeholder until I can get you something better.”

Nines dropped one hand down onto the table, gently placing it on top of Gavin’s. It was so smooth, so gentle, and Gavin was staring at him. He was smiling, not showing his teeth, but that other smile, where he looked pleased with himself. “It’s very old and worn, it must have some sentimental value. I will cherish it, until you ask for it back.”

It shouldn’t of had sentimental value, it was a stupid toy he’d gotten out of a toy machine at the bowling alley with his brother. He’d actually gotten the frog one but his brother knew he wanted the cat so he and Gavin scoured the hideous carpet, finding all sorts of gross things, until they found a few quarters. Each toy was fifty cents and it took them two more tries before they got the cat one. Gavin didn’t remember where their deadbeat dad was at the time, but he didn’t care. It was a good memory, one of the few, of him and his brother, laughing and prodding each other with week old french fries that had hidden from the vacuum cleaner, while they got Gavin a toy that probably cost a sixth of what they ended up spending on it.

And Nines was cherishing it in a way Gavin had forgotten.

“Okay.”

Their server arrived and Gavin ordered a beer and Nines perked up to give Gavin the actual menu so he could figure out what he wanted. Gavin saw the words tofu and asparagus in the same option and didn’t need any more time to think.

“I’ve seen you eat cheeseburgers, Gavin,” Nines mentioned once the waiter was gone. “Have you suddenly gone vegetarian?”

Gavin shrugged. “Nah, I’m one of those oddballs who actually eats tofu because he likes it. Can you believe that?”

Nines put his hand over his mouth to cover his smile.

Gavin reached out, grabbed Nines by the wrist, and pulled his hand away, only for Nines’ expression to snap back to nothingness. “Why do you do that?”

If Nines had a late he would be staring at it. He wasn’t looking anywhere near Gavin. “My teeth unnerve people,” he explained in a quiet and emotionally dead tone.

“What? Don’t tell me Cyberlife’s perfect boy has a snaggle tooth!”

Nines’ eyes, those beautifully icey eyes, flicked up to meet Gavin’s for a moment before he remembered himself and looked at his hands.

Gavin stopped teasing then, leaning closer. “That’s why you don’t like eye contact, right?”

“They’re too cold. They make people uncomfortable, are too intimidating. I don’t blink as often as a human does and, though I have timed it to the preferred six seconds, Hank says that is too mechanical having it be perfect like that. I am made to serve man and yet I was made to intimidate them.”

Gavin half stood to reach over, to put his hand on Nines’ cheek. His skin was just on the edge of too cold.

“Look at me, Nines?” It wasn’t an order. It was never an order. He kept his voice down, the tone as soft as he could make it. It was hard, to be so soft, but Nines, shit, something about him just drew out all of the softness that Gavin had been storing away all these years.

Nines did.

Gavin sighed.

A shiver ran down his spine. Those eyes, bright and cold, were just like Nines said. They could be scary as hell. But Gavin had no reason to fear him and, framed by those thick black lashes, Gavin could just imagine him looking up through them, through a hazy expression, through something other than a hidden smile or steeled intimidation or wide eyed fear of doing something wrong. Something like pleasure.

Gavin blinked a few times, trying to shake his mind free of that. Sure, he hadn’t gotten laid in three months but that was no reason to think of Nines like that. Nines was, shit, this had to put them on the same level as friend and that was weird to think about.

Nines flickered, looking down again, at Gavin’s wrist which was still on his cheek. “My apologies.”

“You’re really pretty, you know that?” It wasn’t what Gavin meant to say. It wasn’t what he wanted Nines to hear. It just sort of came out. He stared, and Nines stared, and for once they were staring at one another.

Once Nines’ was able to get words out they were quiet and confused. “You’ve complained about Connor’s face so often. We have the same face.”

Gavin crossed his arms. “He uses it wrong.”

That made Nines’ face twist up. “He. Uses his face. Wrong?”

“You know!” He did his best impression of Connor’s lopsided smile, way too stretched and weird to count as anything. He was getting better at it but Gavin would never let him live down all of those failed attempts.

Nines laughed. Gavin had never heard him laugh before. It was deep and rolling, higher than his normal voice but still so pleasant, even as it cracked with a moment of static, a sound that he was never designed to make but did anyway, here, now, because of Gavin. And for a moment, his teeth were on full display.

All four rows of them.

They were sharp, shaped lie shark teeth and just as deadly. He only saw them for a moment before the laughter was gone, a hand thrown over Nines’ mouth as his LED pulsed red. Nines glanced around the room and Gavin could see what he was doing, looking for the best escape, trying to come up with some excuse.

He didn’t need any. Gavin wasn’t letting him leave that easily. He took Nines’ wrist again, just as gentle as before, taking his other hand in his as well. Nines’ LED was still red, still pulsing, but now his eyes were wet.

“My apologies. You were attempting to be nice to me and I’ve ruined it with my design,” Nines started.

“You didn’t ruin anything, phck that’s the first time I’ve heard you do anything more than chuckle.”

“They made me a monster.”

“Yeah, well we can be monsters together then.”

Nines looked at him again, some confusion but, more importantly awe in him. “You aren’t phased by any of this?”

“Of you?” Gavin gave him the most incredulous look that he could. “I work homicide, I’ve seen far worse than anything you’ve ever dreamed of doing.”

“You don’t know my dreams.”

“Well shit.”

They both turned and looked up, seeing Mindy just standing beside their table. Her arm was intertwined with another woman’s, who had the same look of shock on her face as Mindy.

“Come to see your handiwork?” Gavin let go of Nines’ hands to turn towards her, arms wide and chest exposed. It was a look that was meant to show off how big he was, to goad her into trying something.

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting you to show. God, remember how fucking pathetic you were when you realized I wasn’t coming?”

Gavin gave her the most plasticy smile he could as a human. “I remember. That’s why I didn’t want it happening again.”

“But you took my reservation anyway.”

“I assumed you had another so you and your girlfriend could watch another mental breakdown.”

She laughed at that, absolutely no kindness in her voice. “Well, I have to get my fun somewhere! And speaking of fun, don’t let the big guy wreck you too hard. You do have to work together, after all, and I’m sure you don’t want the bullpen to see you limping from android dick, considering you ‘hate them’ and all.”

Nines looked over at Gavin as he sneered at them, watching them go.

“What did she mean by that?” Nines asked once they were alone again.

Gavin ran a hand over his face as if he was tried to wipe it off. “She meant that I still act like a prick who hates androids and she thinks me actually spending time with one willingly would hurt my pride or some bullshit.”

“No, the other part.”

“The part where I’m a huge slut?”

Nines nodded.

“Look, I don’t date. I don’t do boyfriends, significant others, or girlfriends. I just go get dicked down.”

“Why?”

Gavin shrugged. “Hurts less.”

The waiter returned with Gavin’s meal and beer, placing them in front of him and giving Nines a pointed look. Nines gave him a facsimile of a smile, the kind that was just supposed to wave him off. Gavin moaned around the first bite, the asparagus popping and hot when he bit into it. He twirled some pasta into it.

“Why are you doing this?” Nines asked, watching him eat.

“If I don’t spin the fork,” Gavin explained, “All of the noodles will fall off.”

Nines shook his head. “No, why are you doing this, with me? You said yourself, you don’t date and I have no intention to get you ‘dicked down’. You’re threatening your reputation and it’s been made apparent that you were correct in your assumptions of Mindy.”

“You don’t?” Gavin wiped his face down with his napkin. “Your loss. But Nines, you know, phck this is weird, uh, other than Mindy and some of the weirdness, I’ve been having a good time. I, shit, don’t tell anyone this, but I want to get to know you a bit. I’ve been liking just being here, with you. I can leave if you want.”

Nines was quiet for a long while. He looked at his hands. He looked at Gavin’s food. “Can I try that?”

Gavin raised an eyebrow. “You can eat?”

Nines shook his head. “I can’t ingest anything but I am curious about how my sensors would respond.”

Gavin set his fork on his plate and pushed it over. He watched as Nines took the very smallest of crumbs off of a slice of tofu and put the fork to his lips. There was a moment of hesitation and then Nines opened his mouth enough for Gavin to see all of those teeth and feel a shiver on the backs of his arms, before he took the fork into his mouth. The LED started to spin in yellow, processing, analyzing, and then Nines was pushing the plate back towards him.

“Do I want to know?”

Nines took Gavin’s napkin and wiped his tongue off on it, just to get the remnants off. “This place has a clean kitchen.”

“Oh my phcking god, are you joking me?”

Nines just looked at him, not understanding what he must have said wrong. “When you’re done eating, what are your plans?”

Gavin looked at him, head cocked, and he let a small smile stretch his lips. “Why? You have plans?”

“Go back to the station, change, go into stasis.”

“You’re not still living at the station, are you?”

The nod that Nines gave didn’t hold any mirth. The energy felt gone. Gavin wanted to fix it, bring it back to how it was before Mindy showed up.

“Well phck that,” Gavin shook his head. “How about you come back to my place? We watch some shitty chick flick or something.”

“You don’t watch chick flicks.”

“I would if you asked me too.”

Nines sat back at that, looking him over. For a moment Gavin thought that he was scanning him but then Nines chuckled, letting his shoulders roll a bit. Easy. Comfortable.

“You really mean that, don’t you?”

“Look,” Gavin scooted up closer in his chair. “I know I’m a hardass and the absolute worst asshole you could have been paired with but phck it, you ask for it, I’ll give it to you.”

Nines face crumpled, his expression completely lost. He reached out, took Gavin’s hand, squeezed it with both of his as he hanged his head. He didn’t say anything for the longest time and Gavin wanted to ask, he really did, but he was so scared all of a sudden. Nines never acted like this.

“You keep saying you’re an asshole,” Nines muttered, “keep acting like you’re the biggest bastard in the world. You know nothing of monsters.”

Gavin gave him a smirk as he traced the scar on his nose with his free hand. “I think I have an idea. Y’know what? Phck this.”

He raised his free hand, calling over a waiter. He asked for the bill and a box for his left overs. He didn’t move his hand, let Nines keep a hold of it. He did nothing to dissuade him. Nines was his friend, which was a realization that scared the shit out of him and he was more than that but Gavin didn’t even want to think about that. So they sat in silence, just touching one another in the only way that made any sense to them, until they could leave.

Nines didn’t speak when he followed Gavin out of the restaurant or into his car, taking his rightful place in the passenger seat. It wasn’t until they were halfway to Gavin’s apartment that he noticed that Nine was looking himself over in the window’s reflection, had his mouth open, and was inspecting those teeth.

Gavin shivered. There were so many of them and they all looked so sharp. He hated the way that it made him think, looking at them. He wondered what they felt like, against skin, how sharp they really were. He wondered how much pressure it would take to break his skin. He wondered all manner of things, none of them friendly.

“You know why Cyberlife gave you those?” he asked.

Nines all but jumped, snapping his mouth shut. He stared at the dashboard. “I was designed with a simple purpose, Gavin, to destroy deviants. My teeth were another weapon for me to use when I had no other options.”

“So, for tearing Connor’s throat out.”

Nines sighed. “Yes.”

Gavin reached out, put a hand on Nine’s thigh. Nines stared at him, eyes almost completely round, LED spiraling yellow as he tried to understand what Gavin was doing.

“Well I think they’re hot.”

Nines huffed. “I’m not getting you dicked down.”

“Okay,” Gavin tried to be nonchalant about it but the fact that Nines had now said it, twice, made him wonder why. Perhaps Nines was sincere and he really did just see him as a friend. Perhaps it was that Nines was afraid of him. Perhaps Nines was afraid of himself. Gavin wasn’t going to push it.

They pulled into the driveway and went up to his apartment. The place was bit of a mess but no more than a loud of laundry’s worth and a lifetime of cat hair but Beard wasn’t going to stop shedding anytime soon.

Nines didn’t have a jacket for Gavin to take. He did have shoes to leave at the door.

“I’ve got a bunch of movies. Go ahead and pick one.”

Nines just stood there, his eyes closed and it took long enough for Gavin to put his food in the fridge and go to bathroom to figure out what he was doing. He as going through Gavin’s movie collection, mentally, using his android powers to sift through it all.

It was only interrupted when Beard rubbed against his leg, making him open his eyes.

Beard was big and fat but maybe not really since he was half manecoon half raccoon or something of that nature. He was big and brown other than the space around his mouth and trailing under his chin which was a light gray.

Nines smiled down at him, showing those teeth for a moment before hiding them behind his hand.

“That’s Beard,” Gavin explained. “Found him skinny and wet and mean as can be, living in the dumpster. No chip no signs, no one to care for him. But I found him, and I took him home and when he was healthy enough I made sure he got his shots. Now he’s a spoiled little monster.”

“He’s handsome.”

Gavin shrugged. “I guess.”

They sat on the couch and it wasn’t long before Beard jumped up to sit on Gavin’s lap, watching the third remake of Love Actually with them. It was silent but it was nice, Nines’ hand in Gavin’s lap to rub at Beard’s thick fur. He only seemed to be half interested in the movie, bastard had probably looked up the entire plotline in his head, but that was alright. Gavin wasn’t paying much attention to it either.

He was paying attention to the fact that while, at the beginning of the movie Nines had to reach to scratch under Beard’s chin, their thighs were now touching. He was a little bit colder than he should have been, to be human, but the pressure was there and Gavin didn’t get touched like that, so causally. It was nice. It was amazing. He wanted to do something for Nines.

“Nines?” he asked, catching the android’s eyes before he quickly glanced away, again. “If I did something stupid would you forget I did it? Like, if I asked you to, would you?”

Nines was staring at Beard. “If you asked I could lock a memory away, encode it and zip it and hide beneath a bunch of other files but, unless they were forcibly removed they would remain there. Why do you ask?”

Gavin was fidgeting. He hated fidgeting. “Because I’m about to do something really stupid and you’re free to stop me and if you hate it, just tell me and I’ll never do it again.”

Nines nodded at that. “Alright.”

When Gavin twisted Beard hopped off of his lap. He put a hand on Nines’ shoulder, the other on his cheek and he leaned in. He let his lips rub gently against the new ones, the ones that had never been kissed before and suddenly he felt dirty, wrong, like he was going to tarnish Nines forever. But then Nines’ was clutching him, dragging him in smashing their lips together and he could feel the sharp points of teeth against his skin, the onslaught of tongue as Nines tried to learn, to understand, to figure out what this sensation was, the holding and the soft murmurs of an android who had never thought himself capable of this, who, if Gavin hadn’t intervened would have thought that getting stood up at a restaurant was all that romance had to offer him.

Gavin needed to breathe. He needed to do a lot of things but one of the big ones was breathing.

He pushed away, sucking in air and Nines was laughing, cackling, and it was so good. It was that energy. It was that being alive. 

Gavin was high off of it. 

“Gavin,” Nines grinned at him, for once not trying to hide it. “I’m glad I got stood up.” 

Gavin slapped him against the chest. He had so many things he wanted to say but, for the moment, nothing came to mind. He just wanted to kiss Nines again. Just wanted to feel those teeth against him again.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a bunch of messages asking for a part 2 I sat down and wrote this. I promise, I will someday write a fic in which bad things don't happen to Nines. I have no idea when or how but I will do something nice to him someday.

Gavin woke up with a crick in his neck and a heavy weight on his shoulder. Worse that that though was the light. It was bright but it was small, regardless, it wasn't the kind of light that he was used to having in his bedroom. This, however, was not his bedroom. This was the living room. The TV was in standby mode, Beard was curled up on the top of the couch, and, laying half on top of him, LED cycling, was Nines. 

Gavin woke up more fully. He hadn't kicked Nines out. They had made out until the movie was over, cuddled up and kept cuddling. At one point Gavin got his hands under Nines' shirt, only for Nines to then pin Gavin's wrists over his head and continue to kiss him, manuevering them so that he was lying on top of him. Gavin was soaking wet by the end of it but still, Nines showed no interest in dicking him down. 

He'd invited Nines to stay. They'd fallen asleep like this. 

Nines made a small sound, a desperate whimper, in the back of his throat. His muscles tensed, arms tightening around Gavin. That was what had woken Gavin up, the small strained sounds that Nines was making, the red of his LED. After a few moments of tension Nines finally relaxed and his LED went back to yellow. 

Gavin didn't know androids could sleep. This wasn't sleep though, not really, it was just stasis, but Nines was dreaming anyway. Or was this a dream? He spasmed, tightening once more, eyes squeezed shut. It actually hurt how much he was clutching at Gavin. And he bared his teeth like a wild animal, even while making more of those small whimpers. 

Gavin pulled his hand free, wiped it through Nines hair, "Hey," he whispered. Nines didn't respond. 

He tapped Nines LED instead and then his cold blue eyes snapped open, LED flashing. He pulled off of Gavin, pulled off and scooted back until he was on the other side of the couch, knees pulled up over his chest, arms wrapped around them. Beard hissed and hopped down from his perch above them. 

"Hey, hey, it's okay!" Gavin promised, trying to pull closer. He'd had nightmares like this before, he'd had those moments of waking disoriented and lost, lashing out at whatever was closest. Nines shouldn't have been able to do that though, he was an android, what could he have imagined? "It's me, it's Gavin. You're in my apartment. You had a nightmare." 

"I can't have nightmares," Nines murmured into his knees, pulling them tighter. 

"Okay, then you had a bad simulation."

"It was a memory," Nines interrupted. 

That made Gavin's heart sink, even as a hint of anger flared through him. Nines was strong and he had been made to do such horrible things though Gavin was certain that terrible things had been done to him as well. There was a learned response in his subservience, on top of it just being the way that he'd been designed. It made Gavin's blood boil and he wanted to find whoever had hurt Nines so bad and maybe not show them the justice he was supposed to. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" 

Nines shook his head. "It won't help." 

"Alright. Can I touch you?" 

There was a long pause and then a very gentle nod. Gavin put a hand on Nine's knee, trying to herd it away from his chest. It took a long long time to get the knee down and then again with the other. Once there was space though Gavin climbed into it, pressing as much of himself against Nines as he could, and he put his hands on Nines' face again, directed him to look down, to look at Gavin. 

"You're safe now," Gavin promised, breathing steadily, as if to direct Nines own breathing. "No one's going to hurt you here, you know that, right?" 

Nines swallowed and nodded. "I'm not afraid of you." 

"Of course not," Gavin chuckled and pressed a small kiss to Nines' cheek.

"You should be afraid of me."

That made Gavin pull back, raise an eyebrow. He looked Nines over, sweet gentle Nines, who always waited for instructions before going after a suspect, who always hesitated before swinging a punch, who always gave more chances at surrender than any officer on the force, who was afraid of showing his teeth or his eyes because they were too intimidating. 

Gavin took his chin in hand and directed him so that they were looking at one another. The red LED put streaks of color in Nines' eyes. "I'm not."

"I could kill you." 

"So could Beard if he tried hard enough. You want to come to bed?" 

Nines' lips were in a straight line. He thought on it a moment, thought about how safe Gavin felt with him, how there had been nothing that Nines had done that had scared Gavin off yet. 

"Yes, please."

Gavin got off of him and pulled him up to his feet, leading him to the bedroom. It was a bit messy but it wasn't too bad and in the dark Gavin at least couldn't see it. He told Nines to get out of his dress clothes while he grabbed his pajamas and went to the bathroom. He thought that, for the moment, it would be better for a bit of distance. 

When he came back in pajamas that were practically new from how little he wore them, Nines was down to his briefs and turtleneck. He was sitting on the bed, just waiting. 

Gavin cocked his head at that. "You seriously going to sleep in a turtleneck?"

Nines touched it as if just realizing that it was there. "I could enter stasis in anything, it makes no difference to me."

"Well, okay. You do need to get into the bed at the very least," Gavin instructed, pulling up the sheets and climbing in on his side. "It's kind of small so we're going to have to get close." 

For the first time since waking Nines smiled that tired little smile. "I'm fine with that." 

"I'm sure you are, big terminator loves cuddles."

Nines got into the bed though and he pulled close to Gavin and wrapped his arms around him, burying his face in Gavin's neck. It was different from before, when they had fallen asleep together on the couch. Now Nines was trying to burrow into him and Gavin held him close. If Nines had any more bad dreams there would be no way that Gavin wouldn't wake up immediately. Nines wouldn't be alone through his memories. 

\---

In the morning proper Gavin woke with a different kind of start, this one being for his alarm. Of course, they both had work this morning. He twisted and turned off the alarm, trying not to stir Nines but there was no stopping him from waking up. He'd probably woken up any time that Gavin had snored. He looked better though and he hadn't had any more of the memories in his sleep. Both of them had slept quite soundly, hell, much more soundly than Gavin usually did, even if his hip was a bit sore from all the weight that had been settled on it over the hours. 

Again, he went to the bathroom to change, leaving Nines behind to get dressed in his bedroom. Gavin took a quick shower and did everything else that he needed to do to get ready, giving Nines so much time to get himself ready that Gavin was worried to bore his.... his friend? He wasn't sure. He didn't know what to call it. Helping someone through nightmares and making sure they didn't get stood up completely was something that friends did but staying up late watching movies and having the best make out session of his life? That definitely wasn't friendly. 

Which made him take longer, trying to figure out what Nines wanted out of this, what they were to one another. Gvain had never done anything like this, had never wanted to be with someone for hours and hours, to learn about them, to do more than get dicked down and kick them out in the morning. 

He could smell coffee and eggs and Nines was in the kitchen, looking ready to go out to the Ritz or something. He was wearing the same clothes as the day before, all fitting him perfectly, and his hair was swooped back with only a little bit awry but it was the bit that was supposed to be awry, and he looked so put together and amazing. 

"Ugh," Gavin growled, leaning in the door frame and watching him flip the eggs. "You're wearing the same thing too days in a row?"

Nines shrugged. "I did not plan to spend the night here. I do not have a change of clothes." 

Gavin ran a hand over his face, stepping over and watching how Nines cooked. "What are you doing?" 

"Making you breakfast." 

"I don't eat breakfast."

"No," Nines cocked his head, "but you should."

"We can't have after sex breakfast if we didn't have sex."

"You're really stuck on that, aren't you?" Nines smiled, twisting away from the eggs to give Gavin a small morning kiss. It was just a peck, something small and sweet, but it was so absolutely perfect. Just like everything else about Nines. 

"Well yeah, I love getting dicked down." Gavin gave him his best two eyed wink, making Nines chuckle again. Gavin knew right then that it wasn't his favorite sound but he'd take it a million times over in an attempt to hear that broken staticy laugh again. It was definitely his second favorite sound he'd heard so far. "I'll drop it though, if you're really that bothered by it."

Nines pulled the pan off of the heat and slid the eggs onto a clean plate, handing it over to Gavin. He was quiet then, thinking, as he also poured and prepared a cup of coffee that he couldn't drink. He was doing these things for Gavin and he was suddenly aware that Nines was trying to pay him back for something. Together they brought his meal to the table and Gavin wanted him to stop because he didn't know what it was that Nines was paying him for. Either way, he didn't want Nines to pay him off. 

"I don't have a penis," Nines stated, finally, and if it weren't for how it was just a bit too quiet Gavin would have thought there was no emotion to it. 

Gavin grabbed him by the wrist, keeping him there or just a moment, pulling him down the last few inches to kiss him again, almost as soft as Nines had kissed him. "Neither do I, dipshit. We can make it work."

Nines LED went blue as he finally settled into the seat beside him. "Nothing I say would phase you, would it?" 

Gavin took a bite of egg. There was a little bit of milk mixed into them, alongside salt and pepper. They were exactly how he liked them and he had no idea how Nines knew how he took his eggs. "I'm sure there's something. Just haven't found it yet." 

Nines was playing with his turtleneck, twisting the fabric in his hand. Gavin found himself terribly curious by whatever it was that Nines was hiding under there. There was a reason he was always covered, he'd even slept in it. 

"Speaking of work, people are going to think we're up to something," Nines noted, "They've never seen me out of uniform and my uniform is in my locker. We can come in separately but Mindy knows what we were up to last night, it will affect your reputation anyway."

Gavin started to shovel the food, worried about it going cold. He hated cold eggs. 

"Who cares about my reputation?"

Nines cocked an eyebrow. 

"I don't hate androids anymore. I'm still an asshole but, phck, you make me really happy, you know? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to let people know I'm not grumpy all the time."

Nines put a hand over his, gentle, soft, so so very telling of how much this meant to him. "Gavin. You don't have to change anything, not for me." 

Gavin gave him a stern look though and asked him the one thing that mattered most to him in that moment. "Will you smile more, if I do?" 

Nines gave him a smile that very instant, just enough to show the points of his teeth. 

\---

No one said anything. 

Well, that wasn't true. A lot of people said things. Christina, the oldest of them, told Nines how handsome he looked. A few people thanked whoever had been able to get Nines out of his old Cyberlife uniform. Hank elbowed him in the ribs and called him son, heckling him a bit more than usual. Connor told him he almost looked human like this. Everyone had something to say, but it was about the new look, not about the fact that he'd come in with Gavin. 

That is until Mindy came in. She wasn't secretive about what she'd seen, wasn't subtle in how she sauntered over to Gavin's desk, resting her hip against it. Nines was halfway across the room, discussing a case with some of the rookie officers, but the moment she put her weight on Gavin's desk his LED turned yellow. He was listening in, cheeky bastard. 

"So, how was your date?" Mindy asked, voice loud enough to carry to anyone who wanted to hear. "Looked like fun from where I was." 

Gavin smiled up at her, showing all of his teeth and absolutely no mirth. "It was a lot better than yours, I'll tell you that."

She cocked her head enough to check out his lap, as if that could tell her anything. "I guess we both had our share of plastic last night, though mine was attached to an actual person."

"Okay, for one that's TMI. I did not need to know about that!" Gavin pulled a face. "And two, he's more of an actual person than you'll ever be. Android or no, he actually has an ounce of empathy to him."

People were looking now, a few jaws had dropped. He'd just admitted to having a date with an android, that was a pretty big deal. He hadn't said which one but with how Nines' LED was now red and how both of them had cleaned themselves up from their usual and they were in a room full of detectives and cops, it wouldn't be hard to put the pieces together. 

"Empathy? Is that what you're calling his robo cock?" 

Gavin put a hand over his heart, feigning surprise. "Oh, you don't know what empathy is? That's a surprise, I thought you had to have a basic education to get into police work." 

She slammed her hand down on his desk, finally showing her anger, showing some emotion other than her usual fake chipperness. "Why don't you just admit that your precious morals have slipped and you just want to be a good little slut for your android overlords." 

Gavin didn't rise for it. He gave her a smile. "Maybe because it's none of your business. Maybe because Nines isn't some plastic toy that does nothing but follow orders. Maybe just to piss you off. And maybe because I've grown up a little bit. Now go to your desk and get to work before you tarnish what little reputation you have around here?" 

She stilled. She looked around. Everyone in the bullpen was staring at them. If he was going to be made a fool of, then he was going to drag her down with him. From what he saw, he'd succeeded. 

Mindy stormed off. 

There was clapping, from quite a few officers, one of them even gave a wolf whistle. Gavin was flushed red. He wanted to vanish. But then he looked over at Nines, standing with the rookies, getting a pat on the back, staring at him with round blue eyes and his hand over his mouth to hide his teeth from where he was grinning.

\---

Gavin was getting ready to leave when he noticed Nines, still milling about the station, stopping and letting people bounce cases off him. It was something that he did, when they had a low caseload themselves, since he could try to put the pieces together in a different order and, if he couldn't, it was still beneficial to whoever explained it. The best way to learn was to explain it to someone else, regardless. It made Gavin wonder, what exactly did Nines do when he wasn't there? 

He pulled on his jacket, tossed his trash, and shoulder checked Nines on his way to the locker rooms. He didn't go to them often but Nines had to, "C'mon tin man, works over."

Nines raised an eyebrow, "And?" 

"And you're coming home with me," Gavin rolled his eyes, "unless you've got more important things to do here, while you're off the clock?" 

Nines gave that small smile up until the officer, Miller, slapped him on the shoulder hard enough to surprise him. "Go on then, don't let me distract from you two lovebirds!" 

"We're not birds," Nines argued in that cold voice he pulled off so well. "And romantic or sexual relationships are frowned upon in the workplace." 

Miller just shrugged, "Well, you two have fun in a non romantic or sexual way then." 

With that Nines did follow Gavin to the locker room and he emptied it of all his new clothes, all of it still folded and perfect in the biodegradable plastic bag from the store. He didn't have anything else in there, aside from his old Cyberlife uniform and a single spent bullet that rested on the top shelf. 

"What's that for?" Gvain asked, getting up on his tip toes to see it. 

"Remember my first week here?" 

Gavin did, of course he did. They hated each other, or, Gavin hated Nines anyway, and they'd gotten themselves in the middle of a shoot out. Nines had gotten between Gavin and the action. Nines had gotten himself shot. 

"You kept it?" 

"It's not a biohazard like it would have been from a human body," Nines shrugged. "And it's a good reminder."

"Of what?"

"Of how it feels to be a positive instead of a negative. To save instead of destroy. To ignore my base programming." 

Gavin pinned him against the locker next to his then, a hand on Nine's chest. He stayed on his tip toes but allowed himself to fall forward, to rest their chests together. He kissed Nines, long and slow, exploring him. He'd been more human than Gavin had expected all this time. He'd been fighting to be himself all the while and Gavin had only seen him as a chunk of plastic. 

"You're phcking amazing."

"You're easily impressed."

"Let's go home and you can really impress me." 

He slid down, put his feet flat on the ground. He just wanted to be up again, to feel that strong chest against him, those sharp lips under his. But this was work and if anyone walked in on them they'd get in real trouble. 

"If we stop by a Cyberlife store on the way I could get you something really impressive," Nines offered, closing his locker. He made his way out of the locker room, knowing that Gavin would follow. 

"Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" 

Nines stopped for a moment, scanning the area. Deciding that there was no one around to overhear he started to explain while walking. "You seem quite interested in me dicking you down, even though I do not have the necessary equipment. My model was designed for all sorts of situations, including infiltration. I can attach different genitalia for whatever situation I may need it for. So, if we stop by a Cyberlife store I can get something to dick you down with.' 

Gavin's face flushed red. Nines could just have whatever he wanted? That could be fun, that could be really really fun. But there was something about it that rubbed Gavin the wrong way. The fact that Nines was designed to sleep his way through a mission if it came to that. That he could make his body what others wanted and he was offering to do that for Gavin, it made him feel like he was going to change Nines for his own desires. He didn't want that. He'd had a few moments in which he wanted a dick for himself and, maybe if he could just attach and remove it at will he would have gone for it, but he didn't want to change his body for anyone else. 

"Nah," Gavin shrugged it off, "Don't get anything unless you want it. Definitely don't get it for me." 

"But you desire-

"You can dick me down with a toy or something if you want!" Gavin interrupted. "We can use strap ons. I can fuck you, if you want that. I'm not going to force you into doing anything you don't want, okay?" 

Nines nodded, finally starting to understand. 

"Of course, Gavin."

\---

They got back to Gavin's apartment, Nines bag of clothes tossed onto the couch with Gavin's jacket, and then Gavin had him shoved up against a wall again, kissing him, hands roaming. He was unbuttoning Nines' shirt, pulling it down and revealing the turtleneck. On the way home he'd told Nines more, more about how he wanted him, about how they could do things without penetration, that he just wanted to see all of Nines and touch him, to explore everything. Nines had stared out the window, LED swirling, but agreed to it. The fact that nothing about Nines had scared him away helped but he still looked terribly uncertain and self conscious. 

Now he was freezing up, hands flat on the wall, as Gavin lifted his shirt to find perfect skin, perfect abs, perfect everything. And the tail end of a scar. Gavin went to his knees, mouthed at it, kissed and licked at it. Nines whined from the touch, turning his head to the side, shaking. It wasn't from a bullet wound. It wasn't from a wound that Gavin knew. This was something new. 

"Please," Nines hissed as Gavin pulled his shirt up further, revealing how the scar spread upward, how it cracked and the skin was faded away from it, showing his white chassis.

"Please what?" Gavin asked, tracing the raised solder.

"Please don't hate them," Nines wheezed and Gavin pulled off, looking up at him. Nines wasn't frozen from nerves but from terror. His LED was flashing. 

"What happened?" Gavin asked, prying Nines' fingers from the wall and leading him to the couch, lying down on it and pulling Nines into his lap. Nines let him, even though he didn't touch, didn't pull his hands free from Gavin's. 

"I was being tested on, by Cyberlife," he explained. "I'm a prototype and, more than that, I'm the unit they used for testing. I was broken a few times in the process, as they tried to see how resilient I was. This was the most recent one, they didn't have time to fix it before the revolution." 

Gavin rubbed circles into Nines' hands. "So you've just been walking around damaged all this time? What about when you were shot?" 

"This is after the repair. Before there were cracks spreading from it. There are plates, around my neck and clavicle, missing as well. I am not humanoid there. I am exactly as much a machine as you always feared."

Gavin pushed up with his elbows so that he could kiss Nines, soft, slow, gentle, tugging on his lip with his teeth. "I don't fear you. And I don't hate your damage either. I'm damaged too, remember?" 

"Your damage is purely human." 

"Hmm and yours is purely android." He kissed Nines again. Nines moaned into his mouth. "Nothing phases me, right?" 

Nines was relaxing, slowly, forcefully. He couldn't deny what Gavin was saying though. He let Gavin pick up where he left off, pulling up the turtleneck to mouth at the scar, at another similar one, at the one left from the bullet wound. And there were panels missing, the chassis exposed around them, wired and biocomponents on display. Gavin was careful with them, didn't touch, but kissed the white plastic around them. It wasn't surprising now just how nervous Nines had been to let Gavin in, to expose himself. He wasn't ugly, not by a long shot, but these were things that would have thrown someone off. 

"You said I didn't know of monsters," Gavin licked against Nines throat, making him shiver. "I think I know of them."

"I meant me," Nines argued. "You don't know what I see when I close my eyes."

"You see monsters. I'm guessing you dream of Cyberlife, what they did to you, what they made you to do. They're ll monsters. You, Nines, shit, I can't believe I'm going to say this."

Nines was staring at his chin, waiting, still out of the habit of making eye contact. 

"You're a good man, Nines."

Nines couldn't cry. He didn't have tears. It wasn't something that was possible for him. What he did though was extremely close as he curled in over Gavin's chest and clung to him, shaking and trying to control his breathing as Gavin wrapped him in an embrace, stroking his back, and kissed his LED until it stopped flashing red.


End file.
